Rejection vs Recognition
by Jaka Tingkir
Summary: If Roxanne and Megamind had enrolled in the same elementary school, his schooldays wouldn't be so full of rejections and exile. Slight AU. Little MM x RR.
1. Hitting Miss Jane

**Disclaimer: The familiar characters belong to DreamWorks. **Miss Jane, however, is a name I made up for the nameless teacher.

For Megamind's childhood name, I used Syx. The name was made by SilverShepherd, in her fanfic 'Times Syx'. Metroman's childhood name was also based on the same fanfic. ;)

**Synopsis: **If Roxanne and Megamind had enrolled in the same elementary school, his schooldays wouldn't be so full of rejections and exile. Slight AU. Little MM x RR.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Ironically enough, the peaceful little red house, which was some kind of elementary school, was situated near a huge grey penitentiary for gifted criminals. Undeniably, some prisoners were sent there to try and adapt, offering services for the society in exchange for a decrease of punishment. One of the teachers employed there was Miss Jane. She had seen them come and go, but never before had she accepted one so young.

The first thing she noticed was the head. It was big and blue. The second was his pet. It was a piranha which was kept in a glass sphere. He arrived with this 'extra-terrestrial' and nervous aura along; the latter was more dominating. The class was terrified of him at first, until Mark, or Metroboy, the defender of the class, had sat beside him, and proved that the blue one was friendly. He introduced himself and his pet properly; he was called Syx, and his pet was Minion. _Very odd name for a fish,_ the teacher thought.

In one week, Syx proved himself to be the most brilliant kid Jane had ever seen. That big head of his definitely existed with a reason. Besides being a genius, he was innocent, curious, and helpful; everything a teacher would want to see in a student. He was a solid ingredient for a successful scientist.

He wasn't a wonderful painter, but he had a grasp of his own kind of art and lots of originality. While other kids drew normal objects like their family or twin mountain with a sun peeking from between the lumps; he drew the schematic of a gun. He knew the concept of perspective at such an early age, and had the concentration to draw details into the picture.

Miss Jane felt bad about the gun, though. Clearly his home—_prison_- environment had huge effects on his young mind.

Syx was presenting his newest drawing-_blueprint _of his next project with a proud grin plastered over his happy round face. While the children was impressed by the exact detail, Miss Jane tried to convince herself that the device was not going to be used in bank robbery.

"Behold my dehydration gun!" Syx exclaimed in a proud tone, than he began to blab about how the gun worked; the science beneath. His fish pet, named Minion, was put on nearby table, looking thoroughly proud of his master.

The children didn't understand technology, couldn't care less about the gun. Nothing was being expected of the young scientist; that de_-whatever_ gun was just a picture. The only thing they understood was how cool his drawing was.

He knew that they were impressed, and basked in the glory. He couldn't be more smug and happy as he continued to brag. "It's cool, isn't it? Now who has questions?" he asked- more like challenged, and a student raised a hand, answering him. "Yes, you in the back? Roxanne?"

Other than Metroboy, or Mark, the other kid who was closer to the blue kid was this girl. The girl responded to him. "What is dee-hy-dra-tion?" She quickly asked, "Is it like dried ve-veg... vej... _veggies_?" She babbled, lost in the big word.

Syx had always regarded his friends as simpletons, so he had prepared a simpler formula to help them comprehend the sophistication of hismachinery. "Simply put, I extracted water from the objects. And the stuff shrank down into a little cube. It will be much easier to carry big stuffs if they are smaller. I can demonstrate it."

He pulled out the fully functional dehydration gun. The class shrieked in terror. Miss Jane stood up, displeased by the development.

"Ahhh! What? What?" Syx was surprised at the sudden burst of screaming, carefully holding his gun and avoiding the trigger. "What is it?" he asked, at the same time Mark swooped down and tried to confiscate the dehydration gun.

Accidentally the trigger was pressed during the fight, and Miss Jane was turned into a little blue cube.

A loud gasp was heard from the entire class. Syx and Mark eyed the little cube in fear.

"You killed Miss Jane!" A boy suddenly accused Syx, eyes teary.

"No!" Syx exclaimed, frantically raising his arms in self defense. "She's not dead _yet_! I can bring her back! All I need is just..." searching around, he picked a small flower vase on the teacher's table, pulled out the flower, and drenched the little blue cube with water from the vase. "... a little H2O..."

Miss Jane returned to herself then, her glasses tipped at an angle and her knotted hair sloppy. She felt like she had been asleep during her job, and woken up roughly. Her world was spinning.

"I told you so!" strangely enough, Syx was standing near her with a vase in one hand and flowers in the other hand, a superior smile adorned his face. All other pairs of eyes darted at the little blue alien angrily. All pairs of eyes, except Roxanne's. That girl, who tied her bobbed hair in pink ribbons, was the only one disinterested at the judgment moment.

Syx had to spend the rest of that day standing in the quiet corner, to reflect on what he had done wrong. Frankly, he totally didn't get what was wrong. And he voiced his opinion loudly.

"Why am I the only one being sentenced? I wasn't planning on shooting Miss Jane! I would have demonstrated the abilities of my gun at _this_ _chair_..." he gestured at the object he meant, "...if Mark didn't pounce at me and accidentally set the barrel on Miss Jane!"

The only one on his side was his pet, who nodded in agreement; its teeth were bared at the other children.

"I want my lawyer now!"

Nobody listened to his rants. He plopped down in the corner, just toying around with his friend in a glass sphere. He looked away as Miss Jane put a gold star on Mark's wide chest, adding another accomplishment for his courage.

Syx sat cross-legged at his corner, propping his cheek with one hand. It was unfair that the burly boy was the one getting all the rewards, when he was also the one who pulled at the trigger of the mayhem.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

After the school hours ended and most other kids have gone home, Miss Jane approached the orange-suited blue kid sitting in the quiet corner and patted him on the shoulder. Syx shrugged her hand off, still angry.

"I'm kinda glad I dehydrated you."

Miss Jane huffed at his statement. She was about to question him if he had learned his mistake when he continued, "If you want to ask if I am sorry, my answer is: no, I'm not! It was his fault!"

Miss Jane lowered her body and kneeled before her student, "Syx, there's nothing wrong with a little demonstration."

He let out an angry huff. "Now you tell me."

"...however, this society doesn't accept guns as normal everyday tool. Your friends aren't used to weapons being demonstrated right before their eyes," at this Syx turned around, realization dawning in his eyes. "They are familiar to it as dangerous stuff, and I discouraged my students to carry weapons in their pockets."

"But it's not..." Syx sighed, "...it's not exactly a weapon, and Uncle 12-56-92 approves of its function as a helping tool and self-defense mechanism, like pepper-spray."

"Hm. I don't know how it's done at the penitentiary, but I don't want you wandering around in my class carrying a gun." She replied with the sternest tone she could muster. It was hard to be tough in front of those kicked puppy eyes.

His fish looked up at its master, swimming in circles as if to cheer him up. "Noted, Miss Jane. I won't carry weapons anymore," the kid's reply came in a low, disappointed tone.

"Good. You may go home now." Miss Jane stood and walked to her desk. Syx turned to the door, almost leaving when he heard his teacher called, "Wait, Syx. I have something for you."

His purple ears were increasing. "Yes, Miss?"

She returned his dehydration gun blueprint, three golden stars adorning one corner of the blue paper. Butterflies flapped their wings inside her stomach when she saw his green eyes lit up.

"I felt that you deserve some compliments. I adore your work, and would like to see more of your inventions. Just... try to keep it civil, okay?"

"It would be fantastic!" Suddenly, he was a happy little alien again.

"I have copied your picture. Tomorrow you'll see it hanging on the class' walls," Miss Jane smiled at his big green eyes, taking joy in seeing the little one's face brightly lit with pride.

"Thank you! See you tomorrow, Miss Jane!" he happily exclaimed, and went out of the school house.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Not far from the school's door, Roxanne was waiting for him. The two had grown accustomed to each other's weirdness, and got close because of it. "I think your _dried_ gun is cool," she suddenly exclaimed and stood beside him. She didn't say it while smiling; her lips tightly pursed into a thin line.

The alien pouted at her misunderstanding. "It's not a dried gun. It's _dehydration_ gun. Gun which _dries_ objects," Catching a glimpse of acceptance, Syx quickly become a talking machine. "I know it's cool and all, but nobody appreciated the sophisticated technology behind this little frame," his eyes wondered to the girl beside him. "Except you, of course."

"Uh-huh, yes, I think your drawing is pretty, too," she complimented him further, opening the folds of her own work. "Mine isn't as..." she stared at it for a second, before closing it again. "...you drew like an adult. It's awesome."

"Show me yours, Roxanne," the little blue alien coaxed, "Your drawing, I mean."

The girl shook her head, denying him the privilege. "You'll laugh."

"We won't know until I see it. Come on, don't be so modest."

"What's modest?" she replied with a question. She was so unpredictable at times, because when she was faced with something she didn't know yet, a question was bound to escape her.

He scratched his big blue bald head. "Um, well, how to put it... It's like when you draw something nice, you didn't go around and brag it to everyone. But that wasn't entirely right. Uhhh... Not cocky. Understand?"

"Oh. I like that," she nodded in understanding, "I'm being _modest_ here, Syx."

She was far less brilliant than him, but Syx always lost arguments against her. Her one-liners often caught him off-guard, speechless.

"Okay, okay. If you insist," Syx threw his hands up to the air.

"Insist?"

"Pressing on. Pestering someone to do... or _not_ to do something." Syx added, turning to his close friend, tried to take a peek of what she was hiding. His curiosity was often too big to handle.

The girl opened her drawing. Unpredictable as always, she changed her mind so easily. "Take a look, Syx. But don't laugh. Laughing is not _modest_."

Syx eyed the drawing. He couldn't really bask at the prettiness, because it was messy and bluntly said, ugly. It looked like a fish, but he caught a glimpse of teeth and fins. And sphere around it. He knew that shape.

"Did you draw Minion?" he inquired, eyes narrowing into slits to take in the shape better. He had to use all his imagination to find out the meaning of the picture. "Minion... swimming?"

The girl nodded, faint smile in her lips. "Yes," she was giving him a warm, happy expression when she suddenly heard the familiar horn of her car. She turned to a red mommies' car.

"I have to go now, Syx. You can have that. Bye-bye!"

Talking with her, they couldn't speak on just one issue. She bounced all over the subject, often getting out of topic. But there was one thing he liked the most of her: the look in her eyes when he talked. Her blue eyes were anchored into his, never letting go until his last sentence. He never had someone taking him that seriously, and sometimes, he couldn't bear to look at those intense eyes for too long.

It had been hard to see her off. The blue kid waved at her car for some time, before eying the ugly drawing again. Minion seemed to like it. Its big eyes were gawking at the picture intently, lovingly.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Author's Note: **If you don't like this, click Back on your browser. If you want this to continue, click fav / alert below this note! ;) A review would be so awesome though. I want to know what you like or don't.


	2. Minion's Sharp Teeth

**Disclaimer: The familiar characters belong to DreamWorks. This work is made for free entertainment. I earn no money out of this. **Miss Jane, however, is a name I made up for the nameless teacher.

For Megamind's childhood name, I used Syx. The name was made by SilverShepherd, in the fanfic 'Times Syx'. Metroman's childhood name was also based on the same fanfic. ;)

**Thank you for the massive amount of alerts and favorites! And thank you very much again for those who took the time and reviewed! You guys really helped me with your kind words! XD**

**Chapter 2 Synopsis: **Minion has sharp teeth. Mark thought Minion is a carnivore, but Syx disagreed.

****

Syx arrived early that day, entering the classroom with an excited expression as he stared at his glorious creation being displayed on the class' wall of fame. The class wouldn't begin until seven, but Miss Jane was already present behind her desk. Meaning there were forty-five minutes of solitude for him. Plenty of time to reminisce yesterday's happy events.

"Good morning, Miss Jane," Syx greeted, before sitting at the front, his usual place. He had always loved attention; especially from the teacher. Truthfully he didn't need to sit there to get the teacher's sight at him, because his blue skin and big green eyes stood out so much amongst the class.

"Good morning, Syx. You are early today," she greeted back with a smile, nodding at his fish also. "...you too, Minion." Bizarre pet, it was. That piranha somehow understood greetings and manners like normal human, and smiled in response, flapping its fins to nod back at her.

"I can't wait to see my friends again," ..._and their stupefied faces when they were gawking at my blueprints, _he added in his head.Was that all he should do to gain their attention? _Well, overthrowing that super boy from the spotlight seemed easy enough!_ Hollow chuckles echoed in Syx' head, the competitive side of him itched at the plan forming in his mind.

"Aw, how sweet of you, Syx," Miss Jane answered, fetching the flower vase on her desk and asked, "I have to leave for some time. Can you have an eye on this room while I'm gone?"

Pink blush came to his cheeks then, noticing the vase he had used to drench Miss Jane last day. She seemed oblivious to what he had done to her cubed form with the water inside the vase. "Sure, no problem, Miss."

After her departure, he set his eyes onto his blueprint, sighing contentedly, then started talking to the sidekick in his lap. "Living here isn't so bad, hm, Minion?" He sighed at his picture again, "Out of prison, I mean. If I knew earlier that they react better to simple pictures, we could have been..."

"Why are you talking alone?" a childish feminine voice startled him out of his thoughts. Her voice was like a bell, and truthfully, it surprised him so much he almost jumped, but luckily, cold shivers were the only thing that escaped him.

She continued, not noticing his slight tremble. "Was that a kind of br-brain training?"

"I don't do monologues," he replied defensively, "I was talking to Minion. Get him in a good shape. Same thing that goes for flowers." The fish rolled its eyes.

Roxanne put her bag in her usual locker, before taking her place at the opposite side of the row of chairs, far away from him. "Does Minion like flowers?" she continued their conversation, their distance seemingly unnoticed by the girl.

To Syx, however, the distance and question was unnerving. "I don't know. He likes carrots, though. I don't know if he will eat terrestrial flowers," he hopefully eyed the chair on his right side, "...um, why don't you take your usual spot?" Minion nodded, gesturing at the same chair with his eyes and fins.

"Momma told me to get as far away from you as possible. She said you looked sick," she responded, worry in her face, "Are you ill? You look skinny."

Syx knew what it was about; his looks. It must be the blue skin, the alien-sized head, and eyes. Even the orange prison uniform and manacles spoke crimes. Her mother must have thought that he was a freak who came for her daughter as a predator.

"Syx?" she got up from her chair, intending to come up to him. "Are you okay?"

He assumed her mother was referring 'sick' as 'psychotic', not 'ill'. Fortunately her juvenile comprehension caught her words in a straightforward, more physical way. Her innocence yielded good results for him, and he wouldn't complain for that.

But human adults were far more caring of their offspring; sometimes taking care of their children's problems for them. The same went for Roxanne's case. Presuming from her innocence, her parents might be even more protective.

"I have always been skinny, Roxanne," he replied, shoulders sagging, confidence seeping away from him. "...but I'm in a perfectly healthy condition."

"Really? I'm glad," she welcomed his answer with a genuine smile, before moving from her previous seat to Syx' side. "I really like your fish. Can I touch him?"

Her way of thinking was more unpredictable than the course of a tornado. One time she seemed obsessed to obey her Mom, then a second later she defied, just to get a poke on his green fat fish. "Sure, you may," but she was more delighting, exciting that way. His features lit up as he handed the glass sphere to his close friend.

"I have always wanted a pet," Roxanne watched intently as Minion swam delightfully in his bowl. He swam in vertical circle, showing off. The girl grinned approvingly.

"Why don't you buy one?" Syx suggested, knowing that pets are commonly sold in market. "You can get a goldfish. Then we're going to put Minion and your goldfish in the same bowl. So he won't get lonely while we are busy."

"Mom won't let me."

Her Mom sounded more and more like a nuisance to him. These mindless drones- _kids_ seemed unable to do anything without their parents' consent. While he mulled over her mother, Mark came over to them, accidentally overhearing their conversation with his super senses. The boy wore white, always looking like a good-deed-doer.

"Hey, Roxanne, Syx," he greeted, a smug look in his face. Syx raised his eyebrows in anticipation. He and Mark were total opposites; the stronger guy has bright smile and charming looks, while Syx was nervous and strange. Syx fidgeted; a natural response whenever the opposing pole of his magnet came close. "What's wrong with the fish?" a question leapt off Mark's toothy smile.

"Syx suggested that I bought a goldfish," Roxanne replied almost instantly. "And put our fish together in Minion's bowl."

"Oh, that wouldn't do. Minion's a meat-eater. Look at those teeth," Mark pointed at the thing he talked about.

Minion eyed the longest tooth he had, just between his eyes.

"Are you insinuating that _I _tried to trick her?" Syx growled his question; clearly offended by Mark's careless words. "Trick her into feeding her pet to Minion? It's ridiculous! Why would I do that?"

"Hey, relax, buddy. I don't mean it that way," the smile was wiped clean off Mark's handsome face. He was confused. He always tried to be nice to Syx, only to get the same angry reaction over and over again.

Syx was fuming. "Minion won't eat her goldfish! He's full already! He has had his breakfast! He ate _carrots_!" His voice grew louder by each word.

Metroboy was about to reply when Roxanne cut in, "My Mom wouldn't let me have a pet." Roxanne finished her story, putting an end to the boys' short quarrel. "So I won't be buying any."

Mark shifted his gaze from Syx to Roxanne. "I see. Shame though, I was thinking about adopting the kittens at the shelter near my house. Thought I'd ask some of my classmates to come along and save more. How about you, Syx?"

"Clearly my answer is _no_," the blue boy grumbled, "Minion might _ate_ the kitten. You know, _carnivores_," he stressed further at the killer part, noting how upset he was at Mark's phrasing, "Helpless creatures easily sparked his great appetite for destruction. The mess would be very hard to clean."

"Didn't you say that Minion eats carrots?" Mark queried, one eyebrow rising.

Roxanne eyed Syx also, eager to hear his confirmation. The rage subsided before her blue eyes, and Syx explained in a clearer voice, "He eats any solid food I throw into his bowl, and he can differentiate which ones are food, and which ones are not. He is not an ordinary fish, he can _think_."

The disbelief in Mark's face was as clear as Narcissus' mirror spring. Roxanne, however, fell for that. "So cool," she answered, adoring Minion more and more.

Syx' nostrils were flaring proudly. Mark shrugged, not buying it. "I just wish that Minion could talk, so he can explain his diet himself."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

As if inspired by his rival, Syx began making the draft for his fish language translator. Minion seemed to like it, up until his master drew the shape of a drill. The fish' smile faded.

He was so busy scribbling down his paper, not noticing Miss Jane who snuck up on him. "Nice drawing, Syx," she complimented, "Do you still want to follow today's lessons?" she playfully scolded him, guising her threats in reverse psychology-inspired sentences.

"A minute," he replied, doodling furiously. "Minion's scared to wear this translator. I have to come up with a better design for him."

"Drop it, Syx. It's impolite to draw during Maths class," Metroboy eyed both of them along with the rest of the class, supporting the teacher further by saying, "You are not respecting Miss Jane."

"Thank you for clearing that up, Mark. The choice is now yours, Syx. Continue your drawing in the corner, or drop it and keep your seat."

Being one so used to the prison's cold floor, Syx didn't even consider those as heavy choice. He picked Minion and sat in the quiet corner, where he scribbled further on his piece of paper without onlookers to distract him.

Miss Jane frowned at his reaction, but she still had twenty other kids to teach, so she turned to them, and continued her job.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**Author's Note: **Thank you for giving this fanfic a chance! If you like it, and had time, please review. I'd like to know what you'd like to see more, or what parts you think needed improvement. See you in the next chapter! :)


	3. A Little Fish Told Me

**Disclaimer: The familiar characters belong to DreamWorks. **Miss Jane, however, is a name I made up for the nameless teacher.

For Megamind's childhood name, I used Syx. The name was made by SilverShepherd, in her fanfic 'Times Syx'. Metroman's childhood name is also based on the same fanfic, which is based on the novelization version. ;)

**Synopsis:** Not many fish could talk. The children are curious, and curious children liked to finger the things which interested them.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"I love soup and vegetables," Minion spoke in the next two weeks.

His fishbowl was placed in front of the class; He was part of Syx' presentation that day, right after his master had showed the audience his blueprint of a fish language translator. "But mostly, I love boiled carrots, sprinkled with salt." His voice was light, humorous, and friendly. The students liked him automatically, charmed by his rounded face and body, also his warm personality.

"I told you so, Mark! Minion is _not_ a goldfish murderer!" Syx exclaimed, twirling his index finger and eying his rival triumphantly. The pride in the little blue alien's face was as apparent as Mark's surprised gawk at the talking fish.

"...however, I will never deny the joys of eating steak. Lambs and veal, especially, but it's only on rare occasions we get to eat such expensive food," the fish continued, happily explaining his choice of food. It felt really good, finally being able to voice his likes and dislikes. "I'm not really a picky eater," he added.

Minion's master nodded to him. "Thank you, Minion. Questions, anyone?" Syx took over and point his index finger to the crowd, challenging everyone as he always did after presentations.

"What is veal?" a boy asked, dumbfounded by the gourmet phrase.

Syx was about to answer that question. "It's..."

"...red meat," Minion filled in his master's words, supplementing him with a more diplomatic answer. Knowing the little blue alien since he was eight-days-old, he was going to define veal as baby cow's meat, and that animal was considered an adorable animal. Eating an adorable animal would be considered cruelty, and that was bad publicity.

"Beef, meatballs..." the fish continued, ignoring his master's glare, who was displeased for being interrupted during speech. "...sausages..."

"Ooh, I love meatballs too!" the kid who asked the question exclaimed happily.

Several other hands were raised. One of them was Roxanne's. Syx gladly pointed at her, allowing her to ask the fish, "How do you eat soup?"

"Good question," Minion pointed with his fin, showing her how he usually drank his soup, "I swam to the surface, and used plastic straws to take slow sips from the soup bowl. I'm always careful not to spill any of it."

There were more questions about the fish' diet, but Syx felt that was enough, and stopped the Q & A session.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

During the break time, children were gathering around Minion. They were offering parts of their lunch, throwing questions to the fish while doing so. Minion warmly welcomed them, sometimes offering them entertainment by doing flips in his bowl.

It was one of the occasional times when Syx and Minion were separated, but Syx was in a very good mood that day, adoring the gold star stickers; which were all his. Miss Jane just gave them away, three at the same time, for inventing such a wonderful, yet _civil _tool.

She had put the stars in his palm, not sticking them on his chest, because she said the gold stars wouldn't match the orange prisoner's suit. So she left it up to Syx to decide, where would be the best place to display the proof of his achievement.

He was thinking about his wall of ideas in his room inside the penitentiary. His eyes drooped dreamily as he imagined seeing his trophy every night. His train of thought had to stop though, when he heard Minion's scream.

"Minion?" he called, but was blocked out by the crowd around his fish. "Minion!"

Somehow one of the children managed to uncover the usually enclosed sphere. From where Syx was standing, he could see a curious boy pouring soup into the opened fishbowl.

Minion swam in circles as he hysterically screamed, the water got murky by cream, cooking oil, and pieces of mushroom. Soon the glass sphere's filling was thick yellowish white, instead of clear transparent blue.

"Why is the fish screaming like a girl? I thought he liked soup," the culprit commented in confusion, "Buddy, the soup is delicious. Try it." He tapped his nail on the glass sphere.

Syx pushed aside some of the children in his effort to split the crowd, and when he reached his destination, Minion was already floating belly-up, with tongue lifelessly dangling out his lips.

He gasped and grabbed at the bowl, the water sloshing around as Syx poked his aquatic sidekick's belly. "Minion?" unsatisfied with the nonexistent response, he called louder, "Minion?" Then he turned to the criminal, asking in a disbelieving tone, "What do you think you were doing?"

The other boy gulped. "I-I... he said he liked soup!" His feet dragged backwards as Syx narrowed the distance between them.

Syx gestured at his unconscious fish with his eyes still set on his target. "Didn't you hear what he had said during the presentation? He sipped the soup with a _straw_! Minion never said anything about swimming in the soup! Why did you have to..." His eyes were displaying bafflement when he ranted. But then they narrowed down into aggressive slits when more assumptions arrived inside his bulbous head.

"Oh, I know. You've never heard a fish scream before. You were curious," the kid in orange prison suit cracked his fists. "Such... imagination is so tempting, no?" He continued in a melodic tone, the bizarre softness of the alien's face sending more chills to the guilty party's spine.

There were so many children present, but nobody dared to step up and stop the fight. Fear and silence was thick in the air.

"What? No! I-I..." his target drew a sharp breath, tears forming in his eyes. Syx' angered face promised a long punching session, and the anticipation alone was painful. He kept on moving backwards, until his back met the class' lockers, cornered.

Something snapped in the little blue alien's head, and with a war cry his blue fist flew to the locker just beside the culprit's ears. However, someone with super speed caught his knuckles milliseconds before impact.

"Please, don't damage the school property," Mark Scott, the super kid who intervened the fight said. The boy who poured soup into Minion's bowl slid down the lockers and crumpled near Syx' feet, trembling all the way. "Drop it, little fellow." Mark commanded the attacker in the mightiest voice he could muster with his young vocal cord.

The blue fist shuddered in Metroboy's stoic grasp. "You won't tell me to drop it if it was your _kittens _which were washed in hot soup."

Mark raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement, noticing the fury in his friend's expression. "It was unintentional. He didn't mean Minion harm."

"He _unintentionally _poured soup into Minion's abode. Yeah right," Syx' reply came through the clench of his teeth. "It doesn't sound really convincing."

"Minion is alive," Mark said again. Referencing to his super senses for further credibility, he added, "I can see his heart beating through my super vision. Can he live in standard tap water? If you allow me, I'll replace his water right away."

The tension in the blue alien's breath sank when he heard that his aquatic friend was alright, his shoulder blades decreasing. Mark's good will calmed him down. He sighed, both in shame and relief before retracting his fist from Mark's grasp. "Yes... yes, he can," he muttered.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When Minion woke and fixed his position, his water was clear. No more mushrooms. However the world was dark. Through the darkness, he could identify the blue of his master's head and the shadows of a recognizable prison uniform. "Sir?" the fish called, hoping that nothing serious had happened during his absence.

"Hm?" Turned out the bigger one of the two was hugging Minion's bowl with his body. He uncurled himself, allowing more light to enter Minion's spherical housing. "Is the water good enough?" Uncharacteristic concern was thick in his master's tone, resonating with honest fear.

Minion tested the water, looking around as he spun in his bowl. Mark was standing far away from them, accepting more rewards from Miss Jane for solving the class' problems and for saving a kid from harm.

"A little sour, but it's fine," the fish' answer was meant for the question and tell his feeling. Noticing the distance from the crowd of little kids, Minion knew that they were being punished again. "What happened, Sir?"

"That's standard tap water for you," Syx replied with a smile, shifting his position to sit cross-legged, Minion safe on his lap. "A buffoon thought that you love to swim in cream soup of mushrooms. I corrected him," playful smirk went across the young alien's face. "Come on, ask me how I _fixed_ his mistake."

Minion had bad feelings on this. Obviously his boss had corrected that guy in an incorrect method. He wouldn't be in the quiet corner without a cause. "How, Sir?" the fish obligingly asked.

"It's a secret!" his master cheerfully replied. "Scratch that. I was thinking of building you a robot body," he ranted, back to his plotting mode.

"A body, Sir?" Minion shook his body, not quite sure. Took him a week to get used to the fish language translator; mastering a whole robot body sounded like further harder work to him.

"Oh, Minion, don't thank me yet," Syx lowered his face and smiled at his Minion, faking a flattered expression, "I can't illustrate how broken hearted I was when I saw you swimming in circles around your bowl, helpless before the impending soup of doom," he teased, conveying hyperboles as he did, "So I decided to build you actual limbs, so you can run, cook your own favorite food, and feed yourself."

Upon hearing the cooking part, Minion suddenly thought that the idea wasn't so bad at all. In his bowl, he was so feeble, unable to help his master. Having limbs sounded like the solver of that problem. "That's a brilliant idea, Sir!" The fish nodded gleefully, suddenly excited to have limbs of his own.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After the school hours had ended, Miss Jane visited the quiet corner and the usual occupant. Many students had reported this kid as the one who threw the first punch, but she had to make sure to hear the story from both sides.

"Syx," she called him, disappointment in her voice, "I believe you were more than capable of solving that problem without violence."

Syx stood up with a grin on his round face, Minion in his hand. "Yes, Miss Jane, I agree with you."

Miss Jane disliked the grin. It was an inappropriate moment to throw her a pleased smirk. She queried further, "I suppose you understood why you were punished, then. Are you ready to apologize to your friend?"

The genius kid raised an index finger. "Correction, I'm ready to _accept_ his apology."

Miss Jane put a palm over her face. "You don't get why you were punished."

Syx wore an innocent smile. "Oh, no. I didn't solve my problem in a civilized way, but he was the one who harmed my Minion in the first place. I was _provoked_. Do you think I would apologize to the provocateur? No, I refuse, Miss Jane."

At this point, Miss Jane wondered if this little kid was influenced too by superhero movie villains or hid her perplexity by fixing the position of her glasses.

"There were no rules about harming other student's pets, so I will neither ask nor expected the culprit to apologize," the little alien said, still with his cunning smile. "I broke a school rule enforced by you, however, for fighting inside the school perimeter, so now I humbly ask for your forgiveness."

Her hand waved between them, stopping their conversation. "...you can go home now," Miss Jane replied quickly. She had had enough oddity. He wasn't the usually innocent kid. His words just then sounded like mockery; it was as if he had looked down on her, belittled her with his abnormally diverse vocabulary.

"We are truly sorry, Miss Jane," Minion spoke, his tone humorously light; a much needed comic relief.

Miss Jane nodded to her students, hands folded before her breasts. The fingers of her right hand slowly, forcefully massaging her forehead. "...yes, yes, I heard that. But somehow I'm not convinced," she spoke her doubt, "Seemed like you don't care much about adapting to the society. Especially you, Syx."

His cunning smile wore off as he lowered his big head. "...I'm trying, Miss Jane." His cerulean fingers toyed at Minion's glass sphere as he recounted the many failures he had. "I... I'm still working on that."

"You better try harder next time," Miss Jane reprimanded, before walking back to her desk and cleared her stuff. "...and try to avoid the quiet corner, will you?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Author's Note: If you think it was worth the time, please review! Thank you for giving me a chance, hope I didn't waste it. See you in the next chapter! :3**


	4. Crossroads

**Disclaimer: The familiar characters belong to DreamWorks. This work is made for free entertainment. I earn no money out of this. **Miss Jane, however, is a name I made up for the nameless teacher.

For Megamind's childhood name, I used Syx. The name was made by SilverShepherd, in the fanfic 'Times Syx'. Metroman's childhood name was based on the novelization. ;)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That night, the teacher reflected on what she had said to Syx. Regret tightened like rope around her heart, the pressure dizzying. Notifying him about her doubts helped ease her burden, only to put the weight on someone else's shoulder. It didn't help much to relieve her though, knowing that someone else's shoulder was smaller.

She was going through the students' daily assignments, reading the kids' prose of their family. Syx' work caught her eye. As she had expected from his advanced brain development, his work was more elaborate and complex.

There were only two characters in his story; him and Minion. That pretty much explained his aggressive attitude that morning, when someone from her class poured warm soup into Minion's bowl. That fish was his only family.

She wondered if she could make up with him with golden stars.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ha hah!" As always, Syx bragged his three golden stars to his closest friend, Minion. He shoved his piece of paper towards the fish, who also smirked in delight. "Behold another proof of my supee-rior brainpower!"

"Awesomely magnificent as always, Sir!" the fish complimented, stroking his master's ego.

"Thank you, Minion. You have your share in this achievement also, don't you remember?" the blue alien suddenly quitted his flurry of dramatic glee as he picked off one of the gold stars in his paper. "Here, have a star." He stuck the sticker on Minion's bowl.

"Oh, oh!" Minion gasped, covering his wide mouth with his fins. "I never got a star before!"

"Well, you have one now," Syx chuckled as Minion adored his first gold star with goo-goo eyes. The fish' lower lip trembled. He suddenly cried.

"I love you, Sir!" the fish bawled, his mouth gaping greatly as he spoke. That was the first time Syx noticed his friend had a very wide mouth. Minion usually spoke gently, never boasting his huge mouth like then.

"Why are you crying, Minion?" a feminine little voice asked, announcing Roxanne's arrival. It was break time during school; the class was quite noisy. Still, Syx noticed and acknowledged her.

"It's happy tears," he curtly answered, to which Roxanne smiled.

"I'm happy if he's happy," she replied, "He looks so cute when he's happy. I just wanna rub his tummy."

"Err..." rubbing his hands nervously, the boy replied, "Not wanting to ruin the mood here, Roxanne," Syx uncomfortably explained, trying to soften his denial, "...but you can't. Well, he's a fish. He... could be a little slimy, you know."

"Don't worry about the slime. I'll wash my hands later," she moved towards Minion, "With soap."

Syx gave up on the topic. Nothing could stop her from touching, poking, or rubbing his fish. Not that he disliked it, though. The imagination was quite amusing.

Apparently she only planned to joke around, not really intending to pat Minion's underside. "I saw you bragging, Syx," Roxanne put her hands behind her. A glimpse of white paper in her right hand flitted across his sight. She was trying to hide her written work. "You were never modest, aren't you?"

It was weird how that slight movement perked his interest so much. "Yes," he replied, "I didn't see a reason to get modest over something so greatly done. I have reached an achievement, and rightfully proud of it." He closed the distance between him and the little girl, trying to take a glimpse of the white paper. "Is that your work, Roxanne?"

"No..." she lied, but decided against it and honestly said, "...yes, it is."

Syx pulled back, coy smile over his blue lips, "So? Do you want me to observe it?" he said, slowly coaxing her. His eyes were locked onto the paper behind her back, and continued, "Or are you too ashamed to let me?"

She turned her body, the paper completely hidden behind her slim frame. Syx walked around her, chasing over it, but Roxanne continued turning on her heels. His stubbornness was soon rewarded though. She gave into his persuasion, offering her work to his blue hand. Syx considered it as his first victory over her, rejoicing quietly in his mind as he eagerly accepted the paper.

"I've got two golden stars this time," she explained, blushing over her own words, "I think I suk-succeeded this time."

"Well, that's good to hear, Roxanne," he threw her a bright smile, happy for her. He gazed at her work, smiling all the way until the last sentences. The text was telling him about Roxanne's loving parents; the complete, happy relatives. "Your family seemed nice. And I certainly think you deserved to get the reward."

Her pleasant expression always managed to melt him. There it was, the acceptance Miss Jane had told him to acquire.

"Thank you, Syx," pink blush crept up her cheek when she accepted his compliment. "Would you lend me yours?"

Syx tensed up at her request. "Uh... No, I don't think you could understand... this. Your brain- I mean... you haven't matured enough to grasp the meaning..."

The girl gave him a pout, but shrugged. "...yes, I think you're right. I couldn't even spell Wensday right." The weather on her face kept changing over the course of their dialogue. One second it was sunny, one second later cloudy with a chance of storm.

Her friend stuttered at her sudden negative reaction. "N-no, I never intended to mock your IQ, Roxanne."

"What is IQ?"

"Intelligence Quotient," Syx remarked, getting a thoughtful nod from his close friend. "People used it to... measure someone's intelligence... cleverness."

Her nods became more frequent, her soft hair bounced on her face. "Uh-huh. I think you are intelligent, Syx. I bet your IQ is more than eighty."

It appears that she based her numerical assumptions from the maximum score they could achieve in school grades, ranging from zero to a hundred. Minion snorted in his effort to stifle laughter, little bubbles floated from his mouth towards the surface of his water.

Syx was about to correct her, but Minion cut him, saying, "You are right, Roxanne. His intelligence mark was above one hundred and fifty, last time we checked."

"I wish I could be as smart as you," Roxanne sighed, melancholy on her face, "If I was, I'd be able to stay longer here."

Her statement alarmed the boys. Syx approached her with a question, hoping she didn't really mean it. "What do you mean you couldn't stay? You are not leaving, are you?"

"I have to follow my Momma out of this town," her head bowed down to face the floor, "Momma and Papa had a huge fight."

"You were writing fake stories?" Syx inquired disbelievingly, "Because all I see in this..." he stopped upon seeing Minion's sign to shut up, and turned an empathic look towards her shaking shoulders.

"I don't have money to bribe Momma to not leave Papa," the girl explained, gripping at the edge of her pale pink dress, "And I'm not smart enough to argue Papa so he would stop Momma." Her lower lip trembled. A sniff escaped her as she had a sharp intake. She broke down to tears, wiping them with her arms but the tiny streams kept running down her rounded cheeks.

Syx and Minion turned to see each other, sharing a similar pity on their faces. Syx broke out of his daze first, offering the smaller girl a comforting pat on her shoulder. The girl noticed his light, nervous touch. She suddenly threw herself to him and hugged him tightly.

The blue alien was unused to such major physical contact, his eyes were widening, his arms frozen mid-air, body stiffening like log as she mumbled in his orange prison suit, "I told her I'd eat my veggies if she'd let me stay, but she won't let me," sometimes she choked on her breath, wiping her tears at his prison suit.

"Uugh!" she suddenly pulled back, irritated by the smell of his suit. "You're smelly!" she exclaimed, rubbing the tip of her nose and had a whiff on it. She stuck her tongue out and flapped her palm, as if shooing the aroma. "Did you ever bathe? Yuck!"

When she finished her sudden outrage and looked back at him, she caught his awkward pose. He was frozen like a scarecrow, his arms bending before him, seemingly intending to hug something, but stopped abruptly midway.

"He bathes every day, but we only have a limited amount of spare clothes, and fresh laundry comes only once a week, so he didn't change his clothes... often." Minion answered her, allowing his master distractions as he recomposed himself. The fish saw amusement in her face however, to his relief.

"Minion!" Syx exclaimed, "She doesn't need that much detail on our lives!" he turned to Roxanne then, offering her a seat. "Why don't you sit down and tell us more? I... We might be able to help you find an answer to this problem... teach you how to argue, maybe?"

"Thank you, Syx," she started, "But our house is already being emptied. It's already too late. I'll still be here for the next couple of days, though," she hurriedly continued, noticing his caught breath and unhappy look in his green eyes.

He was begging her not to go, and she indulged in his unspoken request. The girl sat down on the colourful seat he had offered. "Please teach me how to argue, Syx."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Two days later, her classmates gathered before Roxanne's Mother's red SUV. Her class was upset by the loss. Not even Metroboy could stop her from leaving them. The kids cried upon seeing her car leaving.

The teacher also thought that girl was pleasant to teach, although a little slow-witted. Seeing something so precious leaving, not knowing if she'll see them again or not, had always been a classic tear-jerker for her.

"Roxanne, wait!" Syx cried, running out from the schoolhouse. He had been handling something in the quiet corner for some time; that was why he was late.

Luckily he managed to catch Roxanne in time, just before she drove off with her Mom to the red sunset. The little blue alien approached the front right window of the car, where she was seated, and offered her his hand-made snow globe.

The dome was made of fiberglass, placed on plastic platform. A rubber replica of Minion inside was flapping his fins. "I'm sorry I couldn't make you a more elaborate one, my time was limited, but I had configured this replica's texture and movements as fluid as I could to match Minion's, and this thing's glass is unbreakable; in case you bumped it into something, and it could be opened here," he demonstrated, opening a small hole below the plastic platform of the sphere, "The plastic part is entirely removable, in case you wanted to rub his... tummy. And it's solar powered, so you won't have to change its batteries! Just keep him near your windows."

The car was slowly accelerating as he spoke, and Syx had to widen his strides to keep up. "You-you can't leave. I mean, you... I... Don't you want to see my other marvelous inventions? I mean, I-I don't think I can... stop the car, please, Mrs. Driver!"

"Who is he?" Roxanne's Mom, who sat on the driver's seat, inquired, but stopped the car anyway.

Without turning to look at the look in her mother's face, she replied, obviously trying to imply that she didn't want to move either, "He's the reason why I hate to leave," Roxanne accepted the snow dome, stuck her head out of her window, much to her Mother's displeasure, and planted a kiss on her significant other's blue cheek. "Good bye, Syx, I hope I'll see you again!"

"It's a promise!" the alien waved at the speeding car, hopelessness tugging at his heart.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**I don't want this story to drag on and on and on, so the next chapter would be the last one, the epilogue. Thank you so much for all your support, I've never received as many clicks for my writing, and just the number flatters me. A LOT. Just knowing that readers kept coming back to read again and again boosts my spirit. Thank you again, you guys ROCK!**

**AUTHOR'S RANTS: And by the way, I was late in updating because I was working on a MM x RR fanart. I just can't get enough of this couple. Reading others' fanfictions pops so many imaginations, and I just have to... aw, I'm just... SQUEErabidSQUEE! XD *runs around screaming***


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